Howrah's Uluberia buzzes with excitement around the temple worship. Throughout the month of Agrahayan, worship takes place at Bishalakshi Tala. Local residents, along with their relatives from Bangalpur village in Bagnan, participate in this worship.
There is a tradition of bringing new rice home during Bengal's Agrahayan month. Some villages celebrate Nabanna festival around this custom of bringing home new Aman rice. However, in Bangalpur of Bagnan, a month-long feast celebration continues at Mother Bishalakshi's temple. The new rice is offered to the goddess and cooking begins auspiciously with it.
Members of every family in the village come to the temple courtyard to cook, basking in the sweet winter sun. Not only do residents of Bangalpur village participate in the festival. Many people from surrounding villages also join in.
Daily worship continues at Mother Bishalakshi's temple every day. While villagers engage in the feast celebration throughout the month, Sundays see the biggest crowds across the temple courtyard.
Right in front of the temple, cooking is prepared by lighting stoves with large pots and pans. It is believed that those who participate in the festival will have their fortune change one day. With this belief, people rush from far and wide.
There is a custom throughout the village of soaking food the day before cooking. Actually, stoves are prepared, and cooking is done the next day. So nothing new is cooked the previous day. On that day, locals eat according to their means – soaked puffed rice, coconut, jaggery, and flattened rice.
After finishing the afternoon meal, the work of preparing stoves begins. It continues until evening. After that, returning home, women from each household wake up early, bathe, and go to Mother's temple to offer worship. The cooking work begins only after offering worship.
When winter arrives, markets are filled with various types of vegetables. Multiple vegetables are mixed with rice and boiled in pots. At the same time, there is tamarind and wood apple curry. All the village people gather together and celebrate with great joy.
The eating and feasting continue throughout the afternoon. Finally, the stoves are dismantled again, and the area is cleaned. In this way, year after year throughout the month of Agrahayan, from village women to children celebrate Mother's worship at Bishalakshi Tala.
